i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." for our international viewers, world report is next. in north america, "john king usa" starts right now. >>> thanks, wolf. good evening. tonight's britain's tabloid scandal escalates. two rupert murdoch-owned newspapers obtained and published information about prime minister gordon brown's family and finances. and tensions between the united states and syria, near a boiling point tonight. a government that beats its own people when they march peacefully slow to offer help when the united states embassy sund attack. >>> tonight the united states being unable to pay its bills because it's maxed out its credit line. to get more spending power president obama is trying to broker a deal with congress that would slash $2 trillion in red ink over the next decade. republicans refuse to raise taxes. president obama is left to sound like a nagging parent. no breakthrough at this afternoon's white house session. the president will reconvene the talks tomorrow. let's discuss the stakes and politics with jessica yellin and gloria borger. the sound w

now to wolf blitzer. "the situation room" starts right now. >> happening now, the president and the congressional leadership, they're diving into debt talks for a fourth straight day. this hour, the federal reserve chairman meanwhile is warning that failure to reach a deal will create a major financial crisis for the united states. we're standing by for word of any progress. let's see if it happens. also, u.s. senators call for an investigation of rupert murdoch's media empire as the company pays a new price for its phone hacking scandal. could a massive probe now under way in britain happen here in the united states? and the obama money-maybing machine. who's behind the cash and can the republicans compete? >>> president obama and the congressional leadership are under enormous pressure right now, about 40 minutes into their latest round of debt crisis talks. they haveless than three weeks until the deadline to raise the legal limit on the federal debt. and by all accounts, they're still very far apart.

wolf blitzer and i will break down all of it for you and have lawmakers on capitol hill and hear from, you everyday americans, as well. if you want to send us an ireport, go to ireport.com. we'll get it on the air for you and hear your side as well as we quickly come to that deadline. i'm don lemon at the cnn world headquarters in atlanta. i'll see you back here tomorrow, 6:00, 7:00, 10:00 p.m. eastern. >> tonight on cnn presents, don't teach, don't tell. >> parents have a right to raise their children the way they want to. >> a school district at war over homosexuality. >> he came to me and said mom, a kid at school said that i was going to go to hell because i'm gay. >> into the wild. animals ripped from the wilderness where they belong. >> we're just about 20 feet away from the giant. >> a journey to i an place where one woman's passion is keeping wild animals wild. >> but first, long island's serial killer. >> that's how we know we're dealing with a monster, a hannibal elector. >> million dollar homes, beautiful beaches. and mysterious murders. >> four of the victims were found in

joining me now is the host of that show, cnn wolf blitzer. what can we expect.gs going down. >> it looks like they are finally getting some positive developments based on what we heard and you were here, obviously, don, the minority leader in the senate mr. mcconnell, the speaker john boehner were upbeat when they met with reporters about an hour or so ago. behind-the-scenes there are discussions under way. the president once again is directly involved as is the vice president. nancy pelosi, the former speaker, the minority leader in the house going over with harry reid to the white house. they are on phone. they are talking. things are moving in the right direction. and let's hope that this crisis that would be a huge crisis can be averted. we'll have extensive coverage coming in in the next hour. among my guests two key senators very involved and very smart. they've got a lot of experience. mark warner, one of the gang of six, the democratic senator from virginia. also rob portman the new senator from ohio, he served in the bush administration. very well plugg

wolf blitzer talked a little bit about this.ocrats and the republicans appear to have at least agreed that there should be spending cuts and that they should be equal to the increase in the debt limit. that is something the speaker said he wanted. another thing they seem to have agreed on, basically democrats have taken off the table, is the issue of tax increases. democrats have said, well, we'd like to see some more revenue raising, but obviously the republicans aren't going to go for it, so it's off the table. the biggest problem again seems to be this business about a two-step increase. democrats say they're absolutely, positively not going for that, and they suspect that it has something to do with the president's re-election, so they're not touching it. the president said he isn't going for it either. there is this other thing that's up in the air right now, politics on both sides, this issue of the balanced budget amendment. >> right. >> the democratic majority leader said he could see a vote on it. he actually said that

wolf blitzer, thank you very much. enjoyed your coverage just last hour.e sure you stay with us because we're going to be all over the story throughout the show. democratic senator ben cardin is going to join me at the half-hour for more perspective on these very fluid debt talks. i want you to listen to this -- >> stepped back, pulled my glock 40 and put ten bullet in your [ bleep ]. until you drop. >> that is an ohio police officer caught on tape threatening a motorist. and apparently it's not his first incident caught on camera. we're going to show you the video. it's gone viral. we're going to talk about the case with our legal contributor, holly hughes. you'll hear it, as well. >>> many of you are asking questions. you can reach out to us on twitter or facebook. check out "transparent." ake spee in servicing clients that serve our country. my name is marjorie reyes. i'm a chief warrant officer. i am very grateful and appreciative that quicken loans can offer service members va loans. it was very important for me to be able to close and refinance my ho

wolf blitzer and i will break down all of it for you and have

now to wolf blitzer. >>> al qaeda forces looking to expand their turf in the west. plus an international financeer is now freed from house arrest in new york city. the case against the former imf chief dominique strauss-kahn may be falling apart right now because of very serious questions about his accuser's credibility. and how the idea of fox news may have been hatched in the republican white house. the secret blueprint dug up now from the nixon library archives. i'm wolf blitzer here in "the situation room." >>> exactly two months after osama bin laden was killed, elements of his al qaeda network are joining forces to keep his campaign of terror alive. we're learning about a merger of sorts between al qaeda militants in yemen and neighboring somalia. our pentagon correspondent has some exclusive details. barbara, tell us what you know. >> we've been digging for the last several days and several u.s. officials tell us that indeed they have intelligence that convinces them that al qaeda in yemen and the al qaeda-related group in somalia are joining forces to try an

i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." first, a powerful reminder today, if they don't reach an agreement in the next 11 days, all hell could brea look. standard & poor's is warning the nation could be shoved back into recession very soon after the august 2i deadline passes with the clock ticking and stakes rising, our own jessica yellin learned that leaders plan to meet this hour at the white house. we're learning a good deal more about where the talks stand. kate bolduan has the latest. what do you know? >> both sides, all sides are cautioning and stressing that there is no deal. we are learning that president obama and house speaker john boehner are making a fresh drive to strive for one maybe last effort on this some of the ideas could include $3 trillion in debt reduction. that could include spending cuts of possibly a trillion or more, entitlement reform that could possibly include changing the age eligibility for -- of medicare, and also on the issue of revenues, there's discuss of whether the bush era tax cuts for

. >> next we have mara blitzer. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i work at tenderloin development neighborhood corporation. we have an active member of the tenderloin community for more than 30 years. we manage more than 30 buildings in the area which includes about 3000 apartments and more than 100,000 square feet of commercial retail space. our tenants include a wide range of small businesses and we understand small business needs and challenges. we're developing a grocery store that we think would tremendously benefit the neighborhood. the tenderloin is the only neighborhood in san francisco without a full service for free store. we're focusing a mickey more healthy foods available. i have 13 years of community development experience. i have been developing a former ymca site at the corner of golden gate and leavenworth. i look forward to the up and to to participate on the board and represent -- >> i had a question. when the sea was created, commercial real estate, this amount of twitter. -- when this seat was created. this came out of twitter.

wolf blitzer has the preview.daley. >> we had a good interview with him. this is a critical moment. there's only a few days before before the united states potential. we all hope it doesn't happen. potentially couldn't pay all its bills. they'll have to decide which bills to pay, which bills they won't pay. he's still optimistic there will be some sort of deal to avert this kind of disaster, though he did tell me the treasury department is finalizing contingency plans right now, which checks will be written, who will be getting their checks, which vendors, whatever, which checks won't be written, because they won't have enough money. so it's a serious issue, and of course the credit rating agencies are looking at the understanding right now. while he's confident, optimistic at the end there would be an agreement, he's not necessarily able to guarantee the triple a rating will survive. he says the boehner legislation, and we're waiting for it to vote on the house floor. in the next few minutes i think they'll start

tonight at 9:00, cnn's wolf blitzer and don lemon." that's tonight. >>> helium, the same gas used to fill birthday balloons, it may also be used to kill a weed that some say is taking over the south and spreading up the east coast. >> what is this again? >> 96% to 100% pure helium. >> yep, it's helium. it definitely is. >> reynolds wolf, having fun but also talking to a whiz kid who has maybe done something now that people have been working to do for a long time. >>> also ahead, if you like big butts and you cannot lie, i have got the story for you. a beauty pageant where you have to be at least 220 pounds to enter. they are celebrating big is beautiful. stay with me. but not your wrink. new neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. its retinol formula smoothes wrinkles in just one week. why wait if you don't have to. neutrogena®. [ female announcer ] sweet honey taste. 80 calories per serving. 40% daily value of fiber. i'm here in the downtown area where the crowd is growing. [ female announcer ] watching calories at breakfast never tasted t

. >>> wolf blitzer joins us in such a few minutes. first breaking news. we want to get you caught up right now. >>> survivor describing how he avoided the gunman that shot up a youth camp in norway. 85 people died following a bombing in the capital of oslo which claimed seven lives. police have suspect in custody. michael, what's happening now? >> reporter: yeah. i can tell you, we've just heard on local media here that the lawyer for the suspect in this case, his name is anders behring breivik, the lawyer is telling the local television here that the shooting suspect believed that his actions were atrocious, but necessary. that's within the last few minutes. his lawyer saying that he believed his actions were atrocious but necessary. and how atrocious were there? 85 people, most of them kids killed over there on that island, a couple of miles from where i stand right now. behind me is the hotel that's all day been a center for parents of those kids and parents of kids who survived this as well. coming together. they have been having counselling here. a l

wolf blitzer and don lemon break down the hurdles and options.iss "get it done", only on cnn. >>> there is hope apparently, iran may soon free two impris imprisoned american hikers. the reason why next. specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. [pig oinking] [hissing] [oink] [oinking] [ding] announcer: cook foods to the right temperature using a food thermometer. 3,000 americans will die from food poisoning this year. keep your family safer. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. [oinking] >>> an iranian court is expected to rule on fate of pro imprisoned hikers, josh fattal and sarah shourd and shane bauer. shourd was released last year. a court hearing was held today. a lawyer

i'm wolf blitzer here in washington.as we await the president's news conference, we'll update you on where things stand right now, what the debt ceiling debate means for the country, the economy, and for your personal finances. >> well, no new talks are planned today between the white house and congressional leaders after five meetings in five days. they're trying to come up with a deal that raises the debt ceiling to prevent the u.s. from defaulting on its bills while also trimming the deficit. the treasury secretary warns of financial disaster if there is no deal by august 2nd. now, the president says he wants an agreement within 24 to 36 hours. and here's a quick look at where things stand. president obama is holding out hope for the so-called grand bargain. $4 trillion in savings through spending cuts, reforming medicare, other entitlements, and potentially raising taxes. but republicans oppose any tax increases. now, senator mitch mcconnell, he suggested a fallback plan. it would give the president the authority to

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the situation room. a special gathering to tackle america's serious economic problems. key figures from government, business and academia came together this week in chicago for the clinton global might be difference america conference. the event was the brainchild of former president bill clinton. i sat down with him in chicago for a candid interview on the country's debt crisis, the 2012 presidential race, and much more. >> mr. president, thanks very much for joining us. good to be here. first time you've done this as far as the u.s. economy is concerned. normally it's global issues. and i want to get to that, but let's talk about some of the big issues right now. jobs, jobs, jobs. it's a crisis, a game of chicken going on in washington right now between the president, the did democrats on one side, republican leadership on the other side. how big of a deal is this august 2nd deadline for raising the debt ceiling? >> well, because i haven't been in government in a long time, i don't know what options th

wolf blitzer is off. i'm candy crowley and you're in the situation room. >> a lot of pain and not enough gain in the newest snapshot of unemployment in this country. a new report shows 18,000 jobs were created in june. that is so far short of the as many as 125,000 jobs that economists were predicting. the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 9.2%, up from 9.1 that brings the total number of unemployed people in the united states up to a whopping 14.1 million people. here's what president obama said about the numbers. >> today's job report confirms what most americans already know. we still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do to give people the security and opportunity that they deserve. we've added more than 2 million new private-sector jobs over the past 16 months but the recession cost us more than 8 million. and that means that we still have a big hole to fill. >> we're joined now by our chief white house correspondent, jessica yellin. there's no way to pretty up the report. >> the economy

we will move forward maruura blitzer for seat 9. is there anything else on the agenda?madam chair. chairperson kim: meeting adjourned. [beeping] voice: ready. ready. ready. ready. ready. announcer: it can be a little awkward when your friend tells you he's been diagnosed with a mental illness, but what's even more awkward is, if you're not there for him, he's less likely to recover. i'm here to help, man, whatever it takes. voice: ready. hey, mark. hey, mark. hey. where've you been? i lost my cat. aw. that's not right. yeah. so i made this cat magnet to try and get him back. cool. does it work? kinda. [meow] nice. yeah. but that's not my cat. i gotta keep working on it. see ya see ya. see ya. announcer: anything's possible, keep thinking. get started on your own inventions or just play some games at... >> i have been a cable car grip for 21 years. i am a third generation. my grand farther and my dad worked over in green division for 27. i guess you could say it's blood. >> come on in. have a seat. hold on. i like it because i am standing up. i am outside without a roof

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room". it's been a day of dramatic changes in washington's debt crisis. within the past few hours capitol hill's angry partisanship gave way to serious negotiations, and then to predictions of an agreement within the very near future, one top republican, the senator minority leader mitch mcconnell declared and i'm quoting, he's confident and optimistic. moments ago harry reid seemed to throw some cold water on the new found optimism. rets go to capitol hill. our congressal correspondent kate bolduan is following this. what do we know? >> reporter: it's changing minute by minute. we did see what could be a significant step in the negotiations just a short time ago when the top republican in the senate, he said, who is a key negotiator in whatever the end game s-he said that those stalled debt talks that were happening that have been stalled all this past week he acknowledged they are talking once again. list engineer here. actually, i don't think we have the sound. that was mitch mcconnell wh

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> right now, six u.s. senators are giving new momentum to talks aiming at avoiding a national catastrophe in the united states. their bipartisan compromise to slash the deficit. only 12 dpas left, president obama is due to meet this hour with house speaker john boehner and majority leader eric cantor. this just a short while after he met with top congressional democrats over at the white house. ours who correspondent dan lothian is standing by. kate baldwin has the latest. kate? >> polling show that americans are looking for compromise to get through this debt crisis. senators in the gang of six say that's exactly what they're offering here with their plan, but there are real questions if they can get enough support in time. now after months of negotiations. the so-called gang of six met once again behind closed doors this time to try to build momentum around their $3.7 trillion debt reduction plan. >> this is the only bipartisan plan that meets the debt reduction targets. >> the proposal would have budget

tomorrow night a cnn special report on the debt crisis, join wolf blitzer and don lemon for a breakdown on the hurdles, options, obstacles, "get it done, countdown to debt crisis" right here on cnn. >>> let's get out of d.c., shall we, and go a few hundred miles south. in another government is dealing with its own debt problems. we're talking about jefferson county, alabama. officials there were ready to file chapter 9 bankruptcy. that would allow them to restructure more than $4 billion in debt. a lot of that debt is from a court-ordered improvement to the county's sewer system. but the bankruptcy deal is now on hold for at least a week as the county tries to work out a settlement with its creditors. >> we will take a look at whatever they propose, if they propose something. they may not propose anything. fine. then it's our move. >> it would have to be close and it cannot involve a double digit rate increase. so we're open for a bankruptcies have always been my last option and we're down to the end of our rope. we have to have a settlement. >> let me explain what this means now. jeffe

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> one of the world's biggest media empires in crisis now. rupert murdoch publicly apologizing for serious wrongdoing and is now the front tabloid, the news of the world. the new ad in british newspapers coming days before he and his son are scheduled to face members of parliament. our correspondent brian todd and allan chernoff are standing by. first to london and our senior correspondent don rivers is standing by. are people in london, dan, still as shocked as they were over these past few days? >> reporter: i think so, yeah. i mean, this has been a seismic week in british politics. a week that will be written about for decades to come, i think. just having all of the main political parties that are normally squabbling at each other's throats suddenly united, but they're united because of their contempt and outrage at what rupert murdoch's papers are alleged to have done, whereas they spent the last 20 years assiduously trying to get as close as poss

and now straight back to wolf blitzer. a couple of things struck me there from what democratic senator was saying. one was it's not politics as usual, and the other was, it's time to behave like adults. which seemed pretty ironic, which is it's exactly politics as usual and none of them are much behaving like adults. and they don't have a lot of time, piers, to get this done. it has to be done by tuesday and they'll stretch it out until the bitter end, saturday, sunday, asian markets will again open sunday night east coast time in the united states. monday in asia already, the u.s. markets will reopen monday morning, so this clock is ticking, and as you know, for six straight days the markets in the united states, wall street has gone down. the worst week in more than a year i hear in the united states. that could be the tip of the iceberg if they don't get something resolved. i suspect that as the clock keeps on ticking, tomorrow and sunday, harry reid, mitch mcconnell, two leaders of the senate, they will forge some sort

now let's go to wolf blitzer. "situation room" starts right now. >>> the political temperature here in washington, now tipping the scales as the white house intensifies both parties over how to solve the debt crisis. fears that a solution won't be reached in time are quickly, quickly potentially, at least, becoming a reality. what is president obama doing right now to end this bitter gridlock? the white house press secretary jay carney will join me just minutes from now. plus, even if congress agrees on a last-minute deal, the country's coveted aaa credit rating could be compromised. the unpresence dented consequences for all of us. and why some lawmakers argue the looming august 2 deadline isn't the armageddon the president says it is. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we're only five days away from what could lead to unprecedented default in the united states if the political sparring between our elected officials here in washington doesn't stop. and we can't emphasize enough how devastating the

i am wolf blitzer washington, special coverage continues right now with "piers morgan tonight." >> thank you for chain with us. >> bible start with you, the talk of compromise, it seems cheat me that both of the equivalent of the bay of pigs, who will blink first? >> the president doesn't have to say because he doesn't have a boat. it was a moment to isolate the republican speaker of the house and urge him to try to change pass and find out to compromise. we heard him hawed speaker peter tight and say you work with the president. i am not sure politically that was the best way to help john boehner get words to compromise with some of his hard-line members. my also point out you that the president did not in this speech repeat his veto threat. we heard him repeat he would get a short-term extension on the debt ceiling. he did not do that. i will find out what to read into that. in essence, the president tried to rally the american people to pressure congress into a compromise, and we have seen that hasn't worked. this is unprecedented. no u.s. president has never defaulted. is it conceiva

wolf blitzer and i will break down all of the hurdles, and the obstacles to get it done, countdown to the debt crisis. we are not going away from this story and watching capitol hill and the white house where it is going to be a long night at least and we know now that they are going to convene tomorrow at noon and they will vote at 1:00 p.m. eastern. they are packing up to go home, and also at this hour, my conversation with congressman rand paul about the stalemate, and this. >> you need to get two steps back and i will pull my glock and put [ bleep ] in your back. >> and a police officer threatening a motorist and not the first time he has been caught on camera. we will talk about the video that has gone viral with media analyst holly hughes. you can also talk to us on cnn.com/don or four square. host: could switching to geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance? host: do people use smartphones to do dumb things? man 1: send, that is the weekend. app grapgic: yeah dawg! man 2: allow me to crack...the bubbly! man 1: don't mind if i doozy. man 3: is a gentleman with a brosta

our wolf blitzer and don lemon breaking down the options. >>> meanwhile, the president has just lost more than 30,000 followers on twitter, i'm talking about here. the president sent out pleas for his twitter followers to tweet their members of congress about the debt ceiling debate. but apparently not everybody liked being flooded with those messages, and according to the website, twittercounter, 33,000 people jumped ship. they jumped from the president's re-election twitter feed after he sent out those tweets. >>> we just heard joe johns mention the markets on monday, they are really hoping to get some kind of a deal done before the markets open on monday. well, it seems like they may be having an impact, this whole crisis, already. because stocks ended their worst weekly showing in more than a year yesterday. argument to the financial data company wilshire, an estimated $700 billion worth of market value was lost. the dow fell 4.2% for the week while the nasdaq dropped nearly 3.6%. >>> and take a look at this. the federal government is looking to solve some of its money problems,

as always on television, led by wolf blitzer. 9:00 p.m. eastern time tonight.the political ticker. you have some numbers on how americans are feeling about the economy. >> that's right. the president is feeling pressure about the debt talks. one of the items out there that is putting a lot of press shoor on the president right now is the economy, the state of the economy obviously is not good. and public attitudes about the economy are pretty close at or near an all-time low. take a look at this poll that we're putting out right now from cnn and orc. 84% of the american people believe that the economy is in poor shape right now. contrast that with 16% and you may be wondering out there, who are those 16% out there. a lot of people looking at the economic situation right now. in's a lot of frustration with these debt talk gois going on i washington right now. besides the debt talks, if there is another story, it's a lot of buzzlement over the current predicament facing oregon congressman david wu. house minority leader, the democratic leader, nancy pelosi has ca

. >>> we're joined by wolf blitzer now. what do you have?just out in south carolina, take a look at this. mitt romney ahead among republicans, american research group survey showed romney with 25% .palin, who's not even officially running, 16%. maybe she will run. maybe not. michele bachmann, 13%. herman cain, so%. -- 10%. south carolina is the third road on the contest. iowa, new hampshire then south carolina. romney doing well. herman cain doing well in these polls in iowa and south carolina, doing pretty well. he says he's more qualified to be president than michele bachmann. they're both competing for a lot of the same voters. tea party activists among others. he says he's more experienced. the choice is real simple. my entire career has been problem solving, not politics. clearly taking a swipe at michele bachmann saying he's more qualified. he says i have direct hands-on experience, stronger credentials than many of the other candidates. finally, another republican now entering the -- formally entering the race for the republican presi

wolf blitzer joins us with the latest. washington in more ways than one. >> always hot in washington, especially hot right now. wee getting ready and you've been reporting extensively on this debt ceiling showdown. only a few days left. let's hope they get a deal so all of us can continue on. on our political ticker, one item, i'm blocking about it. i haven't posted it yet, but i'll tell you about it. i just taped an interview with the former pakistani is that pervez musharraf. we spoke about the texas governor rick perry, who may be running for president of the united states. you won't be surprised to hear -- maybe you will be surprised to hear, they met in austin last month. pervez musharraf and rick perry, and per -- pervez musharraf tells me that he's convinced rick perry will run for president. we talked a bit about rick perry, and i think he's going to run for president, too. i haven't met with rick perry. pervez musharraf has, and he thinks he'll run. i've also just taped an interview with janet napolitano. we go in

and we can watch wolf blitzer who is prepping here for "the situation room." that is it for us, joe johns. see you back here tomorrow. >>> rupert murdoch says the phone hacking scandal is not ultimately his fault. this hour, the rivetting testimony about the broken trust, the shattered ethics and those who should pay for alleged crimes. stand by. hackers say they turned the tables on murdoch's company, tap into internal e-mail and other corporate secrets. they're threatening to go public with what they found. and president obama embraces a bipartisan compromise that could potentially, at least, be a way out of looming debt crisis. he's urging house republicans not to waste their time on a symbolic vote due to happen very soon. i'm woft blitzer here in "the situation room." >> rupert murdoch says this is the most humble day of his life. a titan of news business, he was called on the carpet before the british parliament today over the phone hacking scandal that shocked and afalled the world. along with a son and former chief executive, murdoch was hammered with

one on woun interview with wolf blitzer, former president clinton talked about whether this is a hard. >> well, i think i know it's a hard deadline in the sense that just letting it happen will have, at the very least, a short term adverse effect on our standing in the world, on our credit, on people thinking we're a grown-up country who know what we are doing. now, how bad the long-term damage is will be determined by how quickly we remedy it, but it's -- since it's never happened before, it's impossible to be absolutely specific, but it's nutty. what you're really saying when you don't raise the debt limit is not you want to balance the budget in the future. it is, i'm sorry, i'm so mad, i can't get my way, i'm not going to pay our past debts and a grown-up country can't do that. we can't afford to do that. >> he went on to say he believes congress will reach some kind of short-term deal. >>> coming up on july fourth weekend expect a year a lot of people singing the national anthem but don't expect our next guest to be one of them. a pastor explains his objection to the star-spangle

wolf blitzer is off. i'm joe johns, and you're in the situation room. >> tears of joys from casey anthony and gasps of surprise. jurors in orlando, florida, clearing anthony of all the most serious counts against her in the death of her 2-year-old daughter caylee. we have a release from the family. while the family may never know what happened to caylee marie anthony, they have closure in this chapter of their life. they will now begin the long process of rebuilding their lives. the family believes the jury made a fair decision based on the evidence presented, the testimony presented, the scientific information presented, and the rules given to them. the family homes that they will be given the time by the media to reflect on this verdict and decide the best way to move forward privately. anthony was found guilty on lesser counts of lying. but now it's very possible this woman who could have faced the death penalty won't face any prison time. standing by to hear the latest reactions and analysis, right no

. >>> i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." for our international viewers "world report" is next. in north america, "john king, usa" starts right now. >> thank you, wolf. >>> and thanks for joining us. i'm jessica yellin, john king is off. we've got breaki ining news on eve of the milestone in our country's future. the house of representatives is supposed to vote tomorrow on speaker john boehner's short-term plan to raise the debt limit and cut about a trillion dollars in spending. but just a few minutes ago the speaker announced he plans to rewrite the bill because it does not cut enough spending. cnn congressional correspondent kate bolduan joins us now from capitol hill, what is the latest? >> reporter: you know the cbo numbers, the congressional budget office, jessica, this office that scores, gives a cost estimate, for legislation, it's very critical, and this evening it came out the cbo brought out -- gave out its estimate, and it says that the speaker boehner's bill falls short of what its target was. it says that it wou

now to wolf blitzer. "situation room" starts right now. >> thanks very much, brook. >>> two weeks before the united states may plunge into financial crisis. plu, media mogul rupert murdoch is just hours away from being grilled and lambasteds by british law makers and now a whistleblower in the growing phone hackl scandal reportedly is dead. and a 77-year-old man defends his home and family from an intruder with a gun. stand by for the dramatic story. that's even more compelling because -- get this -- he's a member of the united states congress. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> the u.s. defaulting on its debt for the first time in history? we can't state it enough, this has enormous consequences for all of us, and time is quickly running out to prevent what the president calls armageddon. let's check in with kate baldwin. she's standing by with the latest. where do the negotiations stand right now? >> the two top republicans in the house. no official readout from the white house, but p

let's go to wolf blitzer. what do you have?tell you, i love that piece you just had on about the singer. >> don't you love that? >> that was so moving. i could see your eyes beginning to get a little moist, am i right or wrong? >> a little bit. >> did you get a little emotional. >> i love hearing italian opera and hearing him sing. >> what a story, too. let me tell you about some politics going on. your eyes are not going to get moist hearing about the political ticker stuff. but i'll tell you what's going on. the president is meeting with democrats, democratic leaders, republican leaders. he's desperately searching for some sort of breakthrough. we did hear a little bit of a tweak in the white house position. remember last week, and you do remember this, brooke, i'm sure. he said he was not going to go along with a 30 day, a 60-day, a 90-day, or even a 120-day whatever extension. some stop gap, short-term measure. today the white house is saying if it's necessary for a few days, he's willing to go along with an extension beyon

we will move forward maruura blitzer for seat 9. is there anything else on the agenda?madam chair. chairperson kim: meeting adjourned. >> thank you very much for coming this morning and welcome to the rededication of the reservoir. we are happy to be here today. this represents one of the milestones in our project. we are happy to share this with you. this reservoir has been empty the last two years and today, you will hear the sound of water rushing to fill it again. it makes the city safer, provides water for customers, for firefighters, for after an earthquake. we will be updating our systems. this was originally built in 1885. 125 years old. it takes care of a good part of san francisco, places lower than this. it is an incredibly important part of our system in san francisco. it was a $39 million project and it came in under budget. we are doing it effectively and efficiently. we do appreciate the folks who worked on it. it is part of the $4.6 billion water system improvement program. this is about a half with point in that program. it is the last major project in

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> president obama back at the bully pulpit for the second time this week to make sure ameripay bill. he went before reporters to keep pushing raising the debt ceiling limit before the august 2 deadline. he seems to be softening his terms somewhat. let's go to the white house. our correspondent dan lothian has the very latest. >> he said it' time for law makers from both parties to make tough choices. he says he's been willing to put entitlement programs on the table, but even so, there's no deal tonight. and some republicans are saying it's time for the president to put his own plan on the table, not make another speech. president obama still thinks the so-called big deal option is the right deal. >> what's important is that even as we raise the debt ceiling, we also solve the problem of underlying debts and deficits. i'm glad congressional leaders don't want to default, but i think the american people expect more than that. they expect us to solve thi

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." the federal debt is soaring high or above the limit almost by the second. and president obama is vowing to hold daily negotiations to raise the ceiling if that's what it takes. another round of talks broke up just a little while ago without repeat any break through. with 22 days left the president says he won't accept the stop gap plan to prevent america from defaulting on its debts. he used a news conference this morning to challenge both parties and to lay down some markers. >> i will not sign a 30-day or a 60-day or a 90-day extension. that's just not an acceptable approach. and if we think it's going to be hard, if we think it's hard now, imagine how these guys are going to be thinking six months from now in the middle of election season when they're all up. it's not going to get easier. it's going to get harder. so we might as well do it now. pull off the band-aid. eat our peas. >> all right, let's bring in our congressional correspondent, kate baldwin. we heard from the house sp

almost tyke for the sit room with wolf blitzer. >> we're going to check in with ben wedeman to see what's going on this day after that dramatic shot. mary rogers, or photographer there, that was a scary, close call, t.j., as you know. we'll have all of that news, what's happening with rupert murdoch's empire, the fbi as you know, launching a formal investigation, initial probe into any of the allegations that some of the 9/11 victims and their families had their phones hacked, if you will. also a special interview with the chairman of is the house budget committee, paul ryan, on what's going on with the debt ceiling negotiations. and even as we speak, the negotiations are under way over at the white house. another day of talks, the stakes, t.j., enormous right now. we're all over that story as well. >> wolf blitzer, we will see you here in about seven minutes. thanks so much. >>> we were showing you video of a guy who was in a bit of a situation. went to work today and got stuck a few stories up. he was a window washer who had to b

wolf blitzer, thank you as always.suing the dmv because he says they wouldn't let him have a customized license plate. it involves sarah palin. my cream is what makes stouffer's fettuccini alfredo so delicious. i think you'll find it's the vegetables. deliciously rich. flavorful! [ female announcer ] together at last. introducing new stouffer's farmers' harvest with sides of lightly sauteed farm-picked vegetables. find more ways to get to the table at letsfixdinner.com. [ tires squeal ] an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance -- respons

supervisor kim: i am actually -- i would really ligke mara blitzer on the committee. we wanted to have commercial real-estate. i had thoughts about continuing this. but i think she's definitely highly qualified for this seat and will bring an important neighborhood perspective. actually, i am wondering if we can just continue this seat to the end of this meeting. why don't we, however, move forward with some of the other seats. seats two, three, and 10 and 11. something, currently, we do not have a latino or african- american representation on this committee. district 6 now has the second- highest number of african- american residents in the city. so it is important for me to ensure that we have representation from that community. linda pierce is african- american. although she was not able to come to the commission was able to speak with our office. i was very impressed with her background, not just because she is from the same school as i am, but she's very committed to that neighborhood and is fairly familiar with the tenderloin. we also have jesus perez, who is a

i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. for our international viewer, world report is next. in north america, john king usa starts right now. >>> good evening, everyone. tonight syria kills more of it citizens just because they want political reforms. plus a new study says all that information you can find on the internet comes at a steep price. and we don't mean money. but first up, a fight that is about money. your money. and as we learned again today, it's about politics, too. at issue, whether big spending cuts should be locked in before the government is allowed to borrow more money to pay it bills. president obama held his second news conference in a week tells you the biggest headline. there is no deal. so the politicians from the president on down are trying to prove they're the one most looking out for you. >> it would be very helpful for us to be able to say to the american people our fiscal house is in order. >> the president wassed a today month that it's impossible to get a deal unless and until the republicans agree to raise some taxes. in turn, republicans say